NAEYC, in collaboration with The Education Trust, released a new report, Increasing Qualifications, Centering Equity: Experiences and Advice from Early Childhood Educators of Color, which explores the responses, reactions, and recommendations from 50 early childhood educators of color, located in New Jersey, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, around the structures, supports, and funding needed to support early childhood educators in attaining a high-quality degree, without deepening existing divisions along racial, geographic, socioeconomic, and linguistic lines. Access the report here.
Child Care Aware’s Annual Report is out: The U.S. and the High Price of Child Care: An Examination of a Broken System! The report highlights the unaffordability of child care as a societal concern, not just a parental or family issue. As laid out in this report, we view child care as an ecosystem with interrelated elements, each contributing to the prices parents pay and the prices facilities charge to run a child care program. Each section of the report discusses an element of this ecosystem, how it struggles and how it can help build a better child care system in the US. Access the report.
On Monday, CAP released the report “Investing in Infant and Toddler Child Care to Strengthen Working Families.” This report highlights new data on the child care system and how it impacts families differently depending on their race, gender, ethnicity and economic status. The report explains how the best child care policies actually promote equity and would lead to greater economic stability and security. Access the report.
Making Sure Ohio Kids Count in the 2020 Census
The census plays a critical role in determining the allocation of billions of federal dollars that promote healthy growth and development during early childhood, including $795 million at stake in the Child Care Development Fund, Head Start and Early Head Start, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The magnitude of resources at stake is increased dramatically as we consider the long-term impact of census counts on state funding over the coming decade.
Unfortunately, the undercounting of children under the age of five has been a pervasive issue in decennial censuses. An estimated 1 million young children were undercounted nationally as a result of the census conducted in 2010. In 2020, it is predicted that communities with large, young child populations are at high risk of being undercounted yet again. To make matters worse, children in low-income households, children of color and Appalachian children stand to be disproportionately undercounted, while also having the most to lose as vital programs face census-related reductions in funding.
Governor DeWine’s Ohio Census 2020 Complete Count Commission includes statewide leaders who will be working to identify strategies and networks within local communities to help ensure that everyone is counted. The commission is tasked to complete a report and develop a list of recommendations to the Office of the Governor on how Ohio can ensure the most accurate and complete count for the upcoming 2020 Census. Upon completion of their report, the commission will also provide their recommendations to the state legislature.
If you haven't already, we encourage you to reach out to members of the Commission from your community to share your concerns about the undercount of young children in Ohio. Don't know what to say? Use our template letter!